Any Tenchu fans play through the entire Wii game?

I love Tenchu, but only played through the first 3 levels when I rented it so I may have been to harsh.

My biggest criticism were that it was not truly open-ended like the originals where the entire level would load and you could go anywhere.

Can you go through the entire game without being seen? I ran into spots I just could not get past with out sword-fighting. You should be able to go through the whole game save boss-battles without being seen.

Does the sword fighting get better. What is the trick to it? I started to sorta get the hang of it, but it seemed like the window was way to short even on easy to react. What is the trick? Can you avoid it all together.

How does the higher difficultys change the game?

Do the levels get better? (maybe the early ones are just tutorials).

Are there lots of ways to solve the later levels?

The graphics were really good.

The play control was really good. (except turning the camera when leaning against the wall. That was dumb)

The music was absolutely killer!

If you are true Tenchu fan and have played through the game, give me your detailed likes/dislikes about the game as compared to the originals.

Overall I just didn't feel the game was worth $50 and game purchases are pretty big moves for me so it's important I get games I love. Maybe I'll get it again when it drops to $20-$30 and hopefully can use the save data still on my Wii from the first one to pick up where I left off.

Again, anyone who is a actual fan of the old Tenchu games actually play through the entire game?

If so read the 1st post and tell me your thoughts good and bad. Specifically what you found about the later levels, sword-fighting, and ways of completing the levels and ability to avoid duels.

I'm not interested in newbs opinions on the game because critics always bash Tenchu and newbs always hate pure stealth games. (i don't mean that in a negative way, its just not a mainstream genre nor does it have wide appeal)

If you can play the game and avoid combat by never having a katana and still sneak past every enemy, then I think I can still really enjoy the game. None of the boss battles use this combat system do they? (none of the first 3 levels seemed to have that type of boss battle).

1. Can you go through the entire game without being seen? I ran into spots I just could not get past with out sword-fighting. You should be able to go through the whole game save boss-battles without being seen.

2. Does the sword fighting get better. What is the trick to it? I started to sorta get the hang of it, but it seemed like the window was way to short even on easy to react. What is the trick? Can you avoid it all together.

3. How does the higher difficultys change the game?

4. Do the levels get better? (maybe the early ones are just tutorials).

5. Are there lots of ways to solve the later levels?

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1. Yes you can go through the game without being seen, but very doubtful that you could do it first time on any level. There isn't any levels that I had to actually swordfight to get past but some did take several attempts.

2. Not really, the sword fighting actually gets harder near the end. It's purely reaction speed but you can judge it slightly from the way your opponent moves before the prompt comes up.
It should be seen as being the last resort and you can avoid swordfights if you don't have a katana but you cannot avoid the boss fights. I think there are 4 boss battles (that I remember) but I only found one to be really difficult.

3. Harder difficulty ups the amount of enemies, which increases the challenge and the way you progress through the levels. I've not actually played many yet though as I'm still trying to get S rankings on all the normal levels first!

4. Yes. The first few levels are kind of like vague tutorials but they do get better as the game progresses imo.

5. Mid-game i'd say there is some variety but the last level is very linear. The whole game is based around finding the best way through the levels so there is never much free roaming. Basically you're a Ninja and you have a clear objective to complete and once I had that mindset I really wasn't worried about not having more open levels.

It's been a long time since I played a Tenchu game (the last being Tenchu 2 long ago) but I really enjoyed Shadow Assassins. It does remind me more of a Splinter Cell game than the previous incarnations as it has a strong emphasis on working out how to get through the levels, making it a puzzle/stealth focused game. I liked the approach as it gives a lot of replay value, it does mean that not everyone will enjoy it because of the emphasis on scores, repetition and precision needed. Whether you see that as being a challenge or a chore will have an effect on how much you enjoy the game and it certainly isn't for those who just wish to run through a game and complete it quickly.

Hopefully there will be a sequel as this game does a lot of things right but there is definite room for improvement. The story does indicate that there is more to come so maybe there'll be a Tenchu 5 next year...

I have no regrets buying Tenchu: Shadow Assassins though. It's one of my favorite 3rd party games to date on the Wii and I'd definitely recommend anyone who likes puzzle/stealth type games to pick it up when there's a price drop.

1. Yes you can go through the game without being seen, but very doubtful that you could do it first time on any level. There isn't any levels that I had to actually swordfight to get past but some did take several attempts.

2. Not really, the sword fighting actually gets harder near the end. It's purely reaction speed but you can judge it slightly from the way your opponent moves before the prompt comes up.
It should be seen as being the last resort and you can avoid swordfights if you don't have a katana but you cannot avoid the boss fights. I think there are 4 boss battles (that I remember) but I only found one to be really difficult.

3. Harder difficulty ups the amount of enemies, which increases the challenge and the way you progress through the levels. I've not actually played many yet though as I'm still trying to get S rankings on all the normal levels first!

4. Yes. The first few levels are kind of like vague tutorials but they do get better as the game progresses imo.

5. Mid-game i'd say there is some variety but the last level is very linear. The whole game is based around finding the best way through the levels so there is never much free roaming. Basically you're a Ninja and you have a clear objective to complete and once I had that mindset I really wasn't worried about not having more open levels.

It's been a long time since I played a Tenchu game (the last being Tenchu 2 long ago) but I really enjoyed Shadow Assassins. It does remind me more of a Splinter Cell game than the previous incarnations as it has a strong emphasis on working out how to get through the levels, making it a puzzle/stealth focused game. I liked the approach as it gives a lot of replay value, it does mean that not everyone will enjoy it because of the emphasis on scores, repetition and precision needed. Whether you see that as being a challenge or a chore will have an effect on how much you enjoy the game and it certainly isn't for those who just wish to run through a game and complete it quickly.

Hopefully there will be a sequel as this game does a lot of things right but there is definite room for improvement. The story does indicate that there is more to come so maybe there'll be a Tenchu 5 next year...

I have no regrets buying Tenchu: Shadow Assassins though. It's one of my favorite 3rd party games to date on the Wii and I'd definitely recommend anyone who likes puzzle/stealth type games to pick it up when there's a price drop.

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Thanks for the detailed post! I'll pick it up when it drops in price! If I can avoid the sword-fighting I'll like it. And I'll ratchet the difficulty back up to normal. I knocked it down hoping the sword fighting would be easier(i don't think it changes at all).

Thanks for the detailed post! I'll pick it up when it drops in price! If I can avoid the sword-fighting I'll like it. And I'll ratchet the difficulty back up to normal. I knocked it down hoping the sword fighting would be easier(i don't think it changes at all).

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The difficulty level does actually change the swordfighting a bit. It isn't too noticible for the majority of the game but it makes quite a difference on one of the bosses because he is really tough, strangely tougher than the final one. It took me about 9 attempts on normal to beat him but only 3 when I tried on easy. I can't even imagine how hard he'll be in the shadow mode. You can switch difficulty levels at the start of a boss though, so if you get stuck on one you can just bump it down to easy for the fight and raise it again after.